If you’re about to graduate from college or have recently done so, you must have wondered what would be your average college salary after graduation and what your degree will be worth in terms of future earnings.
Due to the fact that more than half of recent graduates have sizable debts (plus interest) to repay, most college students prioritize salary and benefits when looking for employment.
On average, people with college degrees make much more money than people without a degree, and the potential salary rises with each additional degree.
So here in this article, we will have a detailed overview of the Average College Salaries. We will also discuss the major stats like an average salary by degree, majors, demographics, and the type of institution.
Let’s get started with some general stats on average college graduate salary.
(Source: NCES, Statista, NACE, Real Estate Witch, Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Average College Graduate Salaries: General Statistics 2025
The average salary for graduate degree holders depends on the skills they hold and the knowledge they have.
There are many factors that affect the overall statistics, including the area in which the graduate lives, the college from which he took the degree, and the cost of living.
- The average salary for graduate students is $55,260 per year in 2023.
- Technical majors earn the highest salary after graduation, with an average of $87,989 per year.
- Since 2018, the average salary for fresher graduates has increased by 8.5%.
- The most common salary expected from graduate students is $85,000.
- After the technical majors, Petroleum technicians have the highest package salary of $80,000 yearly.
- The median salary offered to college graduates is around $47,000.
- According to the statistics, the average salary for graduate students increased by 2.5% from 2020 to 2021.
- NACE stated that in 2023, employers are planning to hire 31% more employees who are college graduates than they hired in 2022.
- Based on the most recent data, this year’s projected average salary is more than $50,000.
- The Real Estate Witch noted that undergraduate students of all the institutions and majors overestimated their basic salaries by 88%.
- NACE found that the projected salaries for the science and math degrees can increase by 5.4% and decrease by 14.8% for the humanities degree.
- Students who have completed some college courses but have no degree earn about $46,755 yearly. This group has an average unemployment rate of 5.5%.
- Bachelor’s degree holders earn $1,334 weekly.
- Degree holders have an unemployment rate of 3.5%.
- The average salary offered to the master’s degree holder is around $81.867.
- The unemployment rate was seen for master’s degree holders was 2.6%.
- The survey states that more than 50% of students are stressed about finding a job in the current situation.
- According to the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, bachelor’s degree graduates earn an average of $2.8 million.
- The national average salary for college graduates has been steady at around $50,000 to $60,000 over the past years.
Let’s look at the median annual salaries of US college graduates over the years.
| Year | Average Salary |
| 2000 | $47,211 |
| 2002 | $51,223 |
| 2004 | $45,902 |
| 2006 | $47,055 |
| 2008 | $45,949 |
| 2010 | $47,219 |
| 2012 | $44,851 |
| 2014 | $45,790 |
| 2016 | $48,549 |
| 2018 | $47,483 |
| 2020 | $52,344 |
| 2022 | $52,000 |
Average Salary by Degree
Among the degree types, on average, the more education you get, the higher your salary will be. It is vital to complete your degree because the highest increase happens only if you have a bachelor’s degree rather than an associate degree.
Here is a breakdown of the salary by degree type.
- On average, graduates with some associate degree earn about $46,124 annually.
- Many students with an associate degree are likely to get a bachelor’s degree to gain the additional education needed to increase their average salary of $18,772.
- The associate degree holders seem to have a lower unemployment rate than those with a high school education, by 2.7%.
- Bachelor degree holders get paid around $64,896 annually.
- Students with master’s degrees get an average of around $77,844 annually.
- The unemployment rate for master’s degree holders is 2%.
- Master’s degree students earn $13,000 more than bachelor’s degree students.
- Similarly, a student with a professional degree gets paid around $96,772 annually.
- Professional degree holders have an extremely low unemployment rate of 1.6%.
- On the other hand, doctoral degree holders get paid an average of about $97,916 per year.
- Doctor degree holder earns about $20,000 more than a master’s degree holder.
| Type of Degree | Median salary yearly | Unemployment Rate |
| Less than high school | $29,800 | 1.1% |
| High school | $36,600 | 1.6% |
| Some college without degree | $39,900 | 2.0% |
| Associate degree | $44,100 | 2.2% |
| Bachelor’s degree | $59,600 | 2.7% |
| Master’s degree | $69,700 | 3.3% |
| Professional Degree | $96,772 | 3.7% |
| Doctorate Degree | $97,916 | 5.4% |
(Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Average Salary by Major
The salary range also depends on the significant subject you take to hold the degree. A wide range of salary packages is offered depending on what subject you study for graduation.
- Business maths engineering, health science, and computer engineering are shown to have higher average salary packages.
- Health science, Business, Engineering, and Computer science majors earn between $52,000 and $71,000 per year.
- The average salary ranges for these subjects are between $52,000 to $71,000 per year.
Here is a detailed structure for the highest-paying professions and the projected average salary.
(Source: NACE)
Need, and the demand for the skills are also the factors that affect the average salary to enter the job market.
| Highest Paying Professions | Average Starting Salary with a bachelor’s degree. |
| Computer Science | $75,900 |
| Engineering | $73,922 |
| Math and Sciences | $66,760 |
| Social Science | $61,173 |
| Business | $60,695 |
| Agriculture | $57,807 |
| Communication | $55,455 |
| Humanities | $50,681 |
Some professions pay a lower starting salary than the national average.
| Lowest Paying Jobs | Average Salary |
| Fine Arts | $48,871 |
| Music | $48,686 |
| Neuroscience | $48,190 |
| Art and Music Education | $45,613 |
| Drama and performing arts | $44,538 |
| Visual and Performing Arts | $42,465 |
| Studio Arts | $41,762 |
| Early Childhood Education | $39,097 |
The above data shows the average salary offered to different types of majors and subjects. Various industries also offer a wide range of salary packages.
- Technology subjects are referred to as the high entity in the US economy.
- Students from a technology background with bachelor’s degrees earn an average of $59,642.
- Students with a master’s degree in technology background get paid around $75,433 yearly.
- The students with marketing as a special subject start their job with an average salary of $52,988.
- A Master’s degree in marketing can jump the salary package to $86,318.
- Health majors will likely earn an average salary package of around $66,440 yearly. (This includes doctors to assistants)
- Business studies will likely have lower salaries, around $60,000.
- Financial jobs pay around $55,609 for a bachelor’s degree, and a master’s in the finance profession pays around $70,957. These jobs include consulting and owning a personal business.
Average Salary by Demographics
Demographical factors are also key to getting paid. Age, Gender, and Race can affect the average salary of college graduate students. Here, we will look at some demographic stats.
Age
Generally speaking, wages increase as you age, peaking at about 55. They then start to decline after that. Average salaries by age for all students, not just those with bachelor’s degrees, are as follows:
(Source: U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics)
| Age | Median Annual Salary |
| 16 to 19 | $29,432 |
| 20 to 24 | $34,684 |
| 25 to 34 | $49,920 |
| 35 to 44 | $58,604 |
| 45 to 54 | $59,904 |
| 55 to 64 | $59,540 |
| 65 and older | $52,416 |
According to data from Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce, college graduates who study STEM disciplines earn greater wage growth over time than those who pursue other fields.
(Source: Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce.)
| Type of Major | Median Annual Wages, Age 25-34 | Median Annual Wages, Age 35-44 | Median Annual Wages, Age 45-59 |
| Arts, Liberal arts, and humanities | $42,000 | $57,000 | $60,000 |
| Business | $52,000 | $70,000 | $75,000 |
| Career-focused | $45,000 | $62,000 | $65,000 |
| Health | $53,000 | $67,000 | $72,000 |
| Social Sciences | $49,000 | $70,000 | $71,000 |
| STEM | $60,000 | $81,000 | $90,000 |
| Teaching and serving | $39,000 | $47,000 | $51,000 |
Gender
When discussing gender, the average salary figures reflect the majors and careers.
- It is seen that men are paid a higher salary than women with the same degree and majors.
- The median average salary of males who graduate in 2021 is around $64,023.
- Females who graduated in 2021 had an average starting salary of $52,695.
- The average salary for nonbinary students who graduated in 2021 was $50,272.
- The average salary earned by a male who has a bachelor’s degree is $64,022.
- The average salary of the females who have graduated is around $52,266.
- The average salary of nonbinary candidates with bachelor’s degrees is $45,099.
- Men with a bachelor’s degree are paid around $900,000 more than individuals with only a high school education.
- Men who have a master’s degree make $1.5 million more than those who have a bachelor’s degree.
- While a woman with a bachelor’s degree gets paid $630,000 more than a woman with a high school education.
- The average salary earned by a woman with a master’s degree is $1.1 million more than any other degree.
- Male students with college or associate degrees are likely to earn around 1.9% more in 2021 than in previous years.
- This change rose faster for women than men in 2021.
Below is the complete breakdown of salaries earned by males and females in 2020 with education degrees.
(Source: College board)
| Degree type | Average salary earned by Males (25 and older) | Average salary earned by Females (25 and older) |
| Less than high school completion | $34,000 | $24,500 |
| High school completion | $45,600 | $32,600 |
| Some colleges with no degree | $51,700 | $38,800 |
| Associate degree | $56,700 | $41,500 |
| Bachelor’s degree | $75,200 | $56,700 |
| Master’s or higher degree | $99,600 | $66,700 |
| Doctoral Degree | $115,800 | $95,200 |
| Professional Degree | $135,400 | $99,800 |
Race
There is also an ethnic factor that sometimes affects the salary offered to the graduate student.
- Native Americans tend to have the lowest average salary compared to others, with an average package of $71,806.
- Asian-American degree holders have the highest median salary of $73,400.
- Graduate students with visas to study in the US have the highest median salary package of $71,806.
- Multi-racial graduate students have the third highest median salary offering of $58,102.
- White students who get a job after a college degree are 60%, which is the highest of any race.
- After graduating, 53% of Native Americans find employment.
- The employment rate is 51% for African Americans, Hawaiians, Pacific Islanders, and Hispanics.
- Multi-racial students who are graduates have 56% of the employment rate.
- Similarly, Asian American students with a graduation degree have an employment rate of 55%.
- The 44% of students with a degree are more likely to continue their education than students from other ethnicities or demographic groups to do so.
| Race/ethnicity(age 25 to 34) | Associate degree average yearly salary | Bachelor’s degree average yearly salary | Master’s degree or higher average yearly salary |
| Asian | $50,840 | $69,490 | $84,780 |
| Black | $34,940 | $50,030 | $53,340 |
| Hispanic | $40,500 | $49,910 | $59,230 |
| White | $45,000 | $59,970 | $69,660 |
| Two or more races | $39,610 | $49,250 | $59,240 |
(Source: National Center for Education Statistics)
- Over 62.7% of white graduates are employed after college.
Let’s look at the graduates who are employed after college according to ethnicity.
| Race | Graduates employed after college |
| White | 62.7% |
| Native-American | 60.3% |
| Multi-racial | 60.1% |
| Hawaiian/Pacific Islander | 59.3% |
| Asian-American | 58.1% |
| African-American | 57.7% |
| Hispanic- American | 57.3% |
| International | 44.1% |
Average Salary by Educational Institution
- Students with bachelor’s degrees from private institutions get paid a median salary of $60,353 per year.
- The students who have graduated from public college have an average salary of around $58,145.
- The graduates from private colleges with master’s degrees have an average salary of $76,883 per year. (2021)
- Public college students with a master’s degree get paid an average salary of $69,818. (2021)
The salary package also depends on the prestige level of the institute. The data about the basic average salaries of those who have recently graduated from prestigious colleges or institutes are highly differentiated.
- MIT, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is ranked sixth in the US. MIT graduates earn the highest average salary after 10 years of enrollment, which is $91,000.
- 22% of undergraduate students from MIT get jobs in their field of study.
- Harvard University is the second-best institute in the US. After 10 years of enrollment, Harvard University graduates earn a basic salary of $87,000.
- The students from Georgetown University get paid an average salary of $83,000.
- Similarly, Stanford University earns around $ 80,900 in average salary after 10 years of enrollment.
- The University of Pennsylvania students get offered the $78,200 salary package after 10 years of enrollment.
- The California Institute of Technology graduates are likely to earn a median salary of $82,900.
- The students with a graduate degree from Carnegie Mellon University earn a median salary of $74,600.
- Thomas Jefferson University students with a graduate degree get paid a median salary of $73,000.
- Over 17% of recent graduates and students expect to earn around $85,000 upon graduation.
- According to the ThinkImpact survey, 50% of student respondents are stressed about finding a job in the current conditions.
- Among the respondents in the survey by ThhinkImpact, 39% were freshman and sophomore students.
Average Salary by Region
- The Mid-Atlantic region has the highest base salary for college graduates, with a median pay of $62,260 in 2020. In 2020, there were 90,182 graduates in this area.
- The Far West region, with an average pay rate of $61,841 among 84,762 graduates, and the New England region, with 32,536 graduate degree holders earning a median starting wage of $61,676, followed closely behind in terms of average pay.
- The Plains region had the lowest average pay for college graduates in 2020, $50,737. This year, 40,466 people graduated in this area.
- The Great Lakes region has the second-lowest average starting salary, with $53,822 and 94,510 students, followed by the Southeast, with $54,742 and 131,930 students.
- At 66%, the Plains region has the highest percentage of graduates in employment.
- For the West and Southeast regions, 52% and 53% of degree holders are employed after graduating from college.
- New England comes in second with 65%.
Related Read:
Final Thoughts: Average College Graduate Salaries (2025)
Your potential salary is crucial when searching for your first job after college.
Nevertheless, you should perhaps consider your capacity for personal development, your interests, and the general work-life balance you anticipate.
As we see, many factors affect the average salary. Consider all these points and choose the highest-paying jobs in the US.
I have shared detailed stats on the average college graduate salary. If I have missed something, let us know in the comment section below.
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